


I Have Heard The Future

by orphan_account



Category: Limetown (Podcast), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (if you wanna know who dies hmu and I'll tell you), Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Death, Experimentation, Horror, Human Experimentation, M/M, Minor Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Multi, Mystery, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, the Limetown AU no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-05-07 13:57:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14672496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Limetown was smaller then he thought it would be. It was also fairly plain, just a regular town with rows of houses, several restaurants, what looked like a theatre, and of course a giant domed lab built into the side of the mountain looming over everything. Yep, just a regular small town."After Hunk ropes Lance into working in a town that exists for some sort of science experiment that no one seems to know anything about he begins to wonder just what he's got himself into. He's determined to figure out why they're all here and not even the cute emo guy he works with will distract him from his mission.(No need to have listened to Limetown to understand and enjoy this fic)





	1. A Ghost Story You Can Barely Remember

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I may not be an active part of the VLD fandom anymore but holy shit do I wanna write this. This is the first time I'm posting chapters as I'm writing them and due to like....Disability....And ADHD.....I can't promise a regular update schedule but I can promise I will finish this fic. Also I'm felixvanhusss on tumblr so don't hesitate to hmu if you have any questions or anything especially about the content of this fic because I want you guys to stay safe <3
> 
> This hasn't been beta'd so all mistakes are my own. Anything you recognize belongs to either Dreamworks or Two-Up ^.^
> 
> Also, while you really don't have to have listened to Limetown to read this fic I recommend listening because it's a damn good podcast.

The bus hurtled down the dirt road, every bump an crack exaggerated to send Lance almost flying out if his seat every couple seconds. Lance took a moment to look around at the others packed into the bus with him. All of them had an odd sort of hope about them. Honestly, Lance wasn’t entirely sure what the purpose of this experiment was and he was certain that no one else in this bus knew either. All he knew was that the town needed a second large animal vet and Hunk roped him into this. He wasn’t even sure that Hunk knew just what the town was for and he was one of the scientists working on whatever it is. The level of secrecy was almost frightening. Before even getting on the buses everyone was scanned and had their belongings throughly searched and were all forced to sign NDAs. Lance didn’t know what he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone and he kinda figured he’d never know. It was only for a couple years anyway then he’d be able to go home and brag about not knowing anything.

The bus made a sudden turn catching Lance off guard and slamming him into his seat partner. Lance hurried to shift back into place after a very vicious glare from her.

Several hours of bumpy road and pissed off seat partner later they had arrived. Getting off the bus Lance took a second to look up at the gates and take it in. This was going to be his home for the next couple years after all. Really, he couldn’t see much of anything over the heads of the crowd slowly making their collective way through the gates. Another round of overly cautious security later he made it through the gate and finally was able to see everything spread out before him.

Limetown was smaller then he thought it would be. It was also fairly plain, just a regular town with rows of houses, several restaurants, what looked like a theatre, and of course a giant domed lab built into the side of the mountain looming over everything. Yep, just a regular small town.

Lance’s house was one of the smaller ones since he came alone. One story, one bed, one bath, kitchen and dinning room were combined and with a small living room. He did have a TV though so that was cool. His stuff had already been moved in for him which was a little creepy and he found a lone official looking envelope on his table. Figuring the next logical step was to open it he did and found a schedule. He was to work with the livestock every other day and on the days inbetween he was to work as a waiter at one of the restaurants. Saturday was his only day off. The second job was a slight surprise but he could work with it, it’s not like he hadn’t ever waited tables before.

Glancing at a clock revealed that it was only 7pm but after such a long day of travel Lance was about ready to pass out. Grabbing one of the books he’d brought from home off a shelf he headed to the bedroom to read until he slept.

~

The alarm that woke Lance the next morning didn’t come from any visible source but it did shut off as soon as his feet hit the floor. The bathroom mirror displayed the weather conditions and time, reminding him to be at the ranch by 8am. It shouldn’t’ve surprised him that the tech in the house was as advanced as it was but somehow it still did.

The ranch was a short bike ride from his house and he managed to arrive just on time. His morning routine might have to be cut a little short if he can’t figure out a way to set the alarm a little earlier.

He and the small handful of other people who presumably would be working alongside him at the ranch were quickly shown around. There were all the regular farm animals of course but Lance noticed that the amount of pigs was….More than he would’ve thought. His attention was quickly redirected as he was told to feed and check up on the cows.

Lance loved cows. In his opinion there were few better animals and he mainly worked with them back home so he very quickly lost himself in this task. Before he knew it it was 3pm and they were all being sent home. Before heading home he was told that he and the other vet (who was working alternate days from him) were going to be on constant call in case any of the animals needed urgent medical attention.

The next day began the same only instead of the ranch he was shown around the restaurant he was to work at. Most of what he was told he more or less already knew from the various jobs he worked to put himself through vet school but a couple of the people who’d be working with him seemed to be taking this deadly serious, especially an oddly intense guy with what looked to be a mullet. Any thoughts about the mullet weirdo were instantly chased from his head when they entered the kitchen.

“Hunk!” Lance shouted, his friends head shot up from whatever he was cooking in reply, smiling, “I thought you were here to be all science-y!”

“I am. Even those working on the project are working two jobs, man.” Hunk said.

“I’m here to work on the project as well.” One of the waiters next to Lance grumbled but he elected to ignore them.

“Pretty cool that we’re gonna be working together, huh? I kinda figured I’d have to find you during my off hours to hang out.” Lance said.

“Well, you’re not ‘hanging out’ right now. Can we continue?” The guy showing everyone around glared at Lance as he spoke.

Lance quickly nodded and continued to follow him around as he gave explanations to how things worked but not without sending Hunk a subtle thumbs-up and a grin. He was hyped that he was going to be able to see his friend so often especially since Hunk was the only person in the town that he knew. One downside of the encounter was the the mullet guy was now glaring at him for whatever reason. It’s not like they missed any oh so vital information.

~

The next couple weeks passed in a blur of animal care and waiting tables. After work he would often just curl up in his house and read or drag Hunk around town to explore. The mullet guy kept glaring at him at work and Hunk remained tightlipped about what exactly they were all here for. Lance was beginning to think that Hunk didn’t even know the answer to that one. The other people at the ranch like to speculate but it was clear they also had no idea. The only people fully aware of anything seemed to be those worked at the lab full time. Lance really wanted to dig into the mystery of it all but the security guards littered about made him think that was probably unwise. Though he did find out why the mullet guy was so intense one day while exploring. He almost literally ran into him and saw he was wearing a security uniform. The next day at the restaurant Lance decided to ask him a couple questions that had been on his mind.

“Hey, man. You’re one of the security people?” He started.

“Yes.” A one word answer, not off toy great start.

“Yeah, so I was wondering why you’ve also been roped into a second job?” Lance asked.

“We all have our roles to play. Look, whatever your name is, can we focus on what we’re supposed to be doing?” He snapped back.

“The name’s Lance. And there’s literally one customer in here and I’m pretty sure Nyma’s got that covered. Can I get your name?” Lance asked.

“Keith.”

“Alright! So, Keith, one more question…..What is up with the mullet?”

Keith’s hand went to his hair almost as if to double check that yes, he had a mullet.

“It’s not a mullet. It’s a little messy because I cut it myself but it’s not a mullet.”

“What on earth did you cut it with? A knife?!” Lance asked incredulously.

To his horror Keith nodded in confirmation.

“Dude, do you not own scissors?”

“I didn’t have any handy!” Keith seemed to be getting kinda rilled up over the hair so Lance decided to drop it…..For now.

“Anyway, what brought you to Limetown?”

“Why does it matter to you?” Keith eyed his suspiciously.

“Because I’m trying to make friendly conversation?” Lance tried.

“Right……My friend was assigned to work as security at the lab and I asked him to pull some strings to get me here as well.”

“Huh, I’m here for a similar reason! My friend, Hunk, you’ve met him, didn’t want to be sent here all on his own so I offered to come with him. Luckily they needed another vet so here I am!” Lance finished with a bright grin.

“Oh. That was….Kind of you.”

And that was all Lance managed to get out of Keith for the rest of the day. He was oddly set on befriending the guy, perhaps because he was beginning to get a tad lonely with only Hunk around for friendship.

The next day one of the pigs was missing and Lance was told it had died in the night suddenly. He assumed the other vet had been called in to try and save it.

~

About a month into his existence in Limetown Hunk showed up at their meeting place (an adorable coffee shop) with a new friend named Pidge who he’d met at the lab. She was an ultra smart programer, very sarcastic and Lance bonded with her instantly. Despite the new friend he was still determined to befriend Keith and continued to casually talk to the guy and he thought he was maybe warming up to him. Keith even initiated a conversation once and Lance couldn’t’ve been more thrilled.

“Keithy, any theories on what’s going on here?” Lance asked, draping himself over Keith’s side.

“You’re leaning on me for some reason. Mystery solved.” Keith gently shoved him off, a small smile on his face.

“I mean what the purpose of Limetown is, Mullet.” Lance rolled his eyes.

“It’s not really our business to know.” Keith shrugged.

“You’re not even a little curious?”

“Nope.”

“That’s a lie and you know it!”

Lance would often pester Keith for his thoughts on Limetown but he seemed pretty set on not knowing. Giving up Lance decided to start making up wild theories.

“Maybe we’re simulating a giant brain. That’s why all the emphasis on the ‘we all have our roles to play’ nonsense.” Lance suggested.

“For what reason? What could possibly be gained scientifically from that?” Keith asked, clearly trying not to laugh.

Lance allowed himself a moment to enjoy that small victory before saying, “How am I supposed to know? I just work with the animals! Mark my words, the real experiment is going on out here, not in the lab.”

“Whatever you say.”

~

A few days later Lance was alerted via mirror message that instead of his usual shift at the restaurant he was to head to the ranch. It was weird but he didn’t think much of it until he arrived and saw the amount of people running about. He was about to find someone to ask about this when he was grabbed by the arm by a very serious looking woman is a white lab coat. She dragged him to a room where the other vet, Warren Chambers and multiple scientists stood. Lance went to stand next to Chamber and the woman who dragged him in stood in front of the group.

“Alright, if this doesn’t work the next attempt will likely be less frantic but we’re all very excited to give this a shot. Now, a quick rundown to make sure we’re all on the same page.We are installing and implant in a pigs brain. McLain and Chambers, if this is successful you will be monitoring the subject for any anomalies in it’s health and behaviour and report them to one of the team members present in this room. One will always be at the ranch so you don’t have to worry about how to reach us. McLain and Chambers will stay here, we’ll call one of you in if we face complications and require your help.”

Very quickly Lance and Chambers were left alone to wait. It only took about an hour for the two of them to be called in to try to stop the hemorrhaging but it was a lost cause. The next few tries went very much the same.

~

“I just don’t get it.” Lance sighed into his coffee, sitting across from Hunk and Pidge, the later of whom was typing away on her laptop.

“What’s to get? They’re testing out something on animals. It pretty standard.” Pidge shrugged.

“Yeah, but they just keep hemorrhaging. And they’re just now moving on to phase two. You’d think after the first couple died they’d instantly start reworking the tech.” Lance said, pointing a finger for emphasis.

“He has a point.” Hunk said.

“They had to see if it was the tech or the pigs causing the problem first.” Pidge said, still not looking up.

“Also a point. I’m more with Lance here though, seems like a lot of needless pain.” Hunk said.

Pidge and Hunk continued to talk back and forth but Lance tuned them out. Truthfully while he was used to watching animals die the amount of pigs that had died while he tried to save them was starting to get to him. It getting exhausting, washing blood off himself every other day and watching bacon in stores go on “sale”. Not that sales really meant anything here, there was just to many dead pigs. He had a sinking suspicion that phase 2 wasn’t going to be much better.

Finally looking up Lance spotted Keith drinking coffee alone at a corner table. Deciding that bothering him was always a good distraction he got up, waved to Hunk and Pidge who just gave him knowing smirks and wandered over to Keith’s table.

“Hey mullet. Mind if I sit here?” Lance asked.

Keith didn’t even look up and barely shrugged but Lance took that as a yes and sat down.

“So, what are you moping about that this fine hour of four in the afternoon?” Lance asked, leaning on his propped up hands.

“I’m not moping.” Keith sighed.

“Yeah, you look downright cheerful. Seriously, man, what’s up?” Lance tried again.

Keith sighed heavily before answering, “It’s nothing. I just….Thought I saw something weird.”

“What did you think you saw?” Lance asked, now genuinely very interested, not that he wasn’t before but Keith was being weird.

“Not anything I think I’m allowed to talk about.” Keith took a quick sip of his coffee, “I was at the lab, working security and I think I started hallucinating.”

“I mean, if it was a hallucination surely there’s no rules against talking about that. Also, are you okay? Hallucinations can be awful.” Lance asked, trying not to seem as concerned as he was because he was suddenly very very concerned.

“It seemed real and everyone was reacting as though it was real though. It was just impossible. I wish I knew what was going on here. I wish I knew what Oscar and Emil and everyone in that lab was up to. Shiro knows more than he’s supposed to I think.” Keith said all this in a frustrated rush.

“Yeah, got some weird stuff going on at the ranch. Wish I knew what was happening just as much as you, man.” Lance sighed, then an idea popped into his head, “Hey, maybe between us, Hunk and Pidge we can quietly figure out what’s happening? Like we could team up?”

“I don’t know….I don’t know if that’d be smart.” Keith shook his head.

“Well, think about it. Offer is unlikely to be taken off the table anytime soon. And hey, we’re gonna be here for a while yet, maybe it’ll become clearer on it’s own?”

“Maybe.”

~

Phase two wasn’t any better than phase one.

~

“Do you know why Emil is here?” Keith asked seemingly out of the blue.

“Uh, I assume he’s scientist or something? Hunk probably knows more than me.” Lance shrugged.

“Yeah, but everyone with his level of clearance is here for a specific reason and he’s under heavy guard at all times. Very heavy guard. I was just thinking…..Does he want to be here?” Keith leaned against a wall, arms crossed while he pondered this.

“Like, you think he’s being kept in Limetown against his will? I thought you didn’t want to get involved in any conspiracy theories?” Lance couldn’t help but tease Keith a little bit. It was the only thing that could distract him from the amount of pigs that kept dying on his watch.

“I don’t.” Keith said before shaking his head and walking off to clear another table.

Lance stood still, watching Keith for a minute turning this new idea over in his mind.

~

Phase three had some survivors but they didn’t last long. Most forgot how to eat.

~

“Hey, Hunk?” Lance asked poking at his friends shoulder to gain his attention.

Hunk hummed, not looking up from his coffee. The poor guy had had a late night evidently. Lance almost reconsidered bothering him. Almost.

“Do you know anything about Emil?”

“He works in the higher levels of the lab. I’ve met him like once. Why?” Hunk’s eyes were still closed.

“No reason.”

~

Phase four was so close or so they said.

~

“Alright, sign me up for your conspiracy group or whatever.” Keith announced sitting down next to Lance, across from Hunk and Pidge.

“Conspiracy group?” Hunk asked.

“Welcome aboard, none of us have any idea what’s going on.” Pidge said over him.

“What made you change your mind?” Lance asked, trying not to sound as curious as he was.

“I haven’t seen Shiro in three days.”

~

Phase five was a success.


	2. Biomedical Engineering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some canon divergence from the Limetown storyline in this one. Whoops! 
> 
> Again, hasn't been beta'd so all mistakes are mine. I hope you enjoy <3

His name was Napoleon. Well, technically he was LTS-54A but Warren called him Napoleon and since Warren was the one to get the implant and test how well it actually worked Lance figured that whatever he called the pig was right. So Napoleon is was.  
The fact that Warren could communicate with a pig via emotional transference caused by an implant in both their brains and regulated by medication was….Wild. Lance didn’t have another word for it, it was wild. He didn’t know if he was allowed to bring it up to anyone outside the ranch but he knew that his history of being able to keep secrets was abysmal at best. So when he arrived at his, Hunk, Pidge and Keith’s bi-weekly meet-up he hoped that he wasn’t going to get arrested and opened his mouth.

“Telepathy!”

“What?” Hunk asked, the other two at the table just looking at Lance with confusion or maybe concern.

“That’s what’s going on here! Or at least, part of it. Warren Chambers got the same implant that Napoleon, the pig that didn’t die, got and now they communicate!” Lance said this all very quickly, not pausing for breath, “So that’s what I think they’re doing here. Creating telepathy.”

Keith looked at him blankly and Lance started to waver, just a bit. Maybe that was obvious and he’d somehow missed it until now? But no, Pidge was nodding at him while Hunk checked something on his laptop. Were the scientists he ever allowed to be parted from their laptops or were those two just workaholics?

“As crazy as that sounds…That lines up with a lot of what Pidge and I have been working on. Honestly I thought it was just some sort of new long distance communication tech.” Hunk said.

“I mean, it kind of is.” Pidge added.

“How can a pig and a human even communicate? Pigs don’t know human language, right?” Keith asked, frowning.

If Lance wasn’t focused on something else would’ve realized he found that frown…Kinda cute.

“Through emotions!” Lance refrained from slamming his hand on the table for emphasis, “That’s how Warren explained it anyway.”

“When did this happen?” Keith asked.

“Uh, like two days ago. Why?” Lance said, Pidge and Hunks heads snapped in Lance’s direction, “What? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Something weird happened two days ago. I was actually about to tell you about it when you distracted me with the telepathy stuff. Pidge thought she saw someone creeping around the lab at night. She was there late working on something, doesn’t matter what, and she heard something and when she went to check it out there was totally someone sneaking around!” Hunk explained.

“Yeah, they were doing something in Oscar’s office, I have no idea what. I got out of there pretty quick just in case. It could just be a coincidence that this happened the same day as the pig thing working….” Pidge continued.

“But we doubt it.” Hunk finished for her, Pidge nodding in agreement.

“That and dad’s been acting really weird. He’s spending more and more time at the lab, which I can’t really judge, but mom and Matt are getting worried. Whenever he’s at home he’s weirdly distant too…” Pidge trailed off.

“So there more here than just the telepathy.” Lance said.

“I don’t know. That’s a pretty big discovery, Lance. If this really works it could change the world.” Keith said.

“Yeah, but if was just the telepathy then why the sneaking around. Not to mention Shiro’s still missing-“ Lance started but Keith cut him off, glaring.

“I’m well aware of that, thanks.”

“I know, sorry. I just wanted to add it to the list of weird stuff.” Lance explained.

Keith nodded, face softening.

“Have I mentioned the head scientist of the animal testing has been acting really weird? She’s like super spacey and easily startled. She’s still getting her job done but that’s a weird thing.” Lance continued.

“I mean, are we going to start and official ‘weird things’ list because that would be….Very long.” Hunk pointed out.

“Fair enough, I just wanted to put that out there.” Lance shrugged.

“Who’s in charge of that project again?” Pidge asked.

“Dr Altea. I think her first name starts with an A?” Lance said.

“Dr Allura Altea?” Pidge asked.

“That’s her!”

“Is that important?” Keith asked, seemingly curious.

“I don’t know.” Pidge shrugged, “It might be.”

“Best to know which Dr Altea it is at least.” Hunk said much to Lance’s confusion.

“Wait, is there more than one?”

“Yeah, she’s got an uncle here. Coran Altea. I have no idea what his role or whatever is.” Pidge said.

“Huh.”

~

Between animal feedings and checking up on Napoleon and Warren Lance decided to keep an eye on Allura. On day three of watching her he noticed that around the same time every day (or every day he was there at least) she disappeared. Hunk and Pidge told him to leave it alone but Keith agreed something weird was up and agreed that Lance follow her one day, on one condition.

“Aren’t you gonna get in trouble for ditching your post or whatever?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow and Keith.

Keith was hiding in a bush, having blown off whatever his current security post was to tag along with Lance. Lance tried not to make it obvious that he was talking to a bush but mostly he was annoyed that Keith insisted on this.

“Nah, no one ever checks to make sure I’m actually there. I’ve wandered off to do other stuff before and nothings happened.”

“Wow, security truly is tight around here.” Lance rolled his eyes.

“Shut up. I think she’s coming.” Keith shushed him before yanking him into the bush.

“What the fuck, dude?” Lance managed to whisper though he really wanted to shout at Keith.

Keith just shoved a finger to Lance’s lips before pointing across the field to where sure enough Allura was walking their way. She didn’t even glance at the bushes as she passed, headed to the wall of rock that cut the field off sharply. The mountain that the town was build next to surging up from the ground suddenly. The town had taken advantage of this and had built a few supply sheds off of it and Allura walked into one of them. Lance and Keith glanced at each other for just a brief moment before rushing after her.

Peering through the window the shed appeared empty. There were the shelves of stuff, of course, but no Allura. Lance didn’t want to push their luck to far so he dragged Keith back from the shed.

“So, teleportation is clearly another project being worked on here, right?” Lance said as soon as the two were safely out of hearing range of the shed, just in case.

“Or maybe there’s a trap door the leads somewhere or we just didn’t see her but she was still there.” Keith countered.

“Like invisibility!”

“Like she was behind a shelf or something.”

Lance waved this idea off, “Nah, something weird is going on.”

“Oh, I’m with you on that.” Keith nodded, “Look, we’ll tell Hunk and Pidge about this tomorrow and figure out our next move from there. For now I’m going to head back to my post.”

And with that and a small wave Keith walked off. Lance felt an odd sort of disappointment that he didn’t feel like examining so he shrugged it off and returned to actually doing his job.

~

Lance didn’t make it to their meeting.

In the middle of making himself some toast in his kitchen the alarm telling him something very wrong was happening at the ranch went off and he rushed to help. There had been a gas leak and it was all hands on deck to save the animals but mainly Napoleon.

Lance rushed to suit up and help, being shoved from all sides but other equally frantic people. Elbows and shoulders colliding as he struggled to find his equipment. Gloves on and gas mask in place he rushed towards the horses, seeing most people focusing their efforts on the pigs. That made sense, they were valuable to whatever goal Limetown was working towards but the other animals deserved safety just as much. The horses were equally affected by the fear sweeping the ranch. Lance rushed forward and just opened the gate, quickly diving out of the way as the horses rushed through, running towards the fields. He figured they couldn’t disappear because of the walls around the town and he had no idea how to calm down a horse so this seemed like the best option.

Horses evacuated Lance turned to find other groups of animals in need of help. A handful of people were rushing chickens about ans he ran to join them. It was harder to get ahold of panicked chickens and evacuate them then he’s thought. It seemed like every couple seconds he had another chunk bitten or scratched out of his arms or somehow legs despite the heavy jeans he was wearing. One managed a nasty scratch across his forehead. The blood pouring into his eye made his job even harder, it didn’t take long for someone to spot him and help him quickly bandage his head. It took maybe a minute or two but Lance felt every second he wasn’t helping move animals like a weight in his gut. Soon enough he was able to rush back into the fray however.

It took about an hour of panic and rushing about before it was found out that this was a false alarm. Lance almost fell to the ground in relief when he heard that. Quickly he pulled off his gas mask and told the person standing next to him that he’d just let the horses run off. It took a team of five, including Lance, to find the horses and bring them all back. Luckily they’d all stayed together, grouped in the middle of a field not to far off from their stable. Unluckily they weren’t easily convinced to return, it likely wasn’t helping that Lance and the rest of the team were still more or less in a state of panic, it not having fully sunk in that the crisis had been averted. Was it averted is there wasn’t even a crisis in the first place? Lance brushed aside this thought and focus back on the horses.

Later, showering off the blood, dirt and fear of the day in his house it crossed Lance’s mind that he hadn’t thought to ask what had set off the alarm. He figured he could always ask later or maybe Hunk and Pidge would know. They knew more than they should most of the time anyway. Lance watched the pinkish water swirl down the drain and realized just how tired he was. Slowly he climbed out of the shower and towelled off quickly. He only managed to slip on some underwear before collapsing in his bed. 

Before falling into the deepest sleep he’d had since arriving in Limetown it briefly crossed his mind how easy it was for panic to take hold.

~

Pidge and Hunk had no idea what had caused the alarm.

“Probably a faulty wire or something, I wouldn’t dwell on it. Totally not jealous of the day you had though, yikes.” Pidge said.

They were back in their usual meeting spot. Keith hadn’t shown up yet, Pidge and Hunk seemed more or less normal and Lance was on his fifth cup of coffee. Despite sleeping like a rock he was exhausted down to his bones. Hunk was glancing at Lance worriedly every couple seconds which meant that he probably looked as bad as he felt.

“Do you need a nap, man?” Hunk asked.

Lance just shrugged.

“Jesus, you look like hell.” Keith announced his presence by declaring this and taking the seat next to Lance.

“Thanks.” Lance said more into his coffee than to Keith.

“There was a false alarm at the ranch and Lance is pretty worn out.” Hunk explained.

“How does a false alarm translate to you being all cut up like this? Seriously, are you ok?” Keith asked.

If Lance had the energy he’d probably have a feeling about Keith being so worried. As it was though, Lance was ready to sleep for another ten hours.

“M’fine.” He muttered.

Keith looked like he wanted more of an answer but Hunk redirected his attention by asking….Something. Lace had stopped paying attention and started to nod off. Fading in and out of consciousness he picked up snippets of the conversation, something about secrets or a lab or something.

Lance was suddenly awoken by a fist slamming into the table. He jolted upright with a sharp inhale, confused.

“Sorry.” Keith apologized, leading Lance to guess that he was the one who hit the table.

“What’s going on? I think I nodded off.” Lance asked.

“You were out for a good fifteen minutes.” Pidge said.

“Pidge doesn’t want me to find Shiro.” Keith said, glare pointed at Pidge.

“That’s not what I said! I just think your plan will get you killed!” Pidge shot back.

“Keith, you can’t really think this is a good idea?” Hunk almost pleaded.

Lance was so lost.

“Can someone fill me in on what’s going on?”

“Right, sorry. Keith thinks Shiro’s in some sort of underground lab and wants to rush in and get him. Thing is we don’t know that A) this lab exists and B) if it does is Shiro there.” Hunk explained.

“It exists and he’s in there! I’m going to get him out, you don’t have to follow me.” Keith said.

“I’ll come with.” Lance volunteered before thinking it through.

Keith look surprised but not unpleasantly so, “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, dude. Just not today. Today I sleep.” Lance agreed.

~

The next day at the ranch things were weird. To be more specific, Warren was acting weird. He was jumpy and seemed so on edge. He refused to leave Napoleon’s side too, though that was to be expected Lance supposed. Deciding to leave that alone for now Lance focused on his job. Still, in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but worry.

That worry was cut short when about and hour before the end of the workday Keith popped out from behind a tree and dragged Lance off.

“Dude, what the hell?” Lance snapped, yanking his arm out of Keith’s grip as soon as they were out of hearing range of the ranch.

“I need your help.” Keith’s voice was even but his eyes betrayed panic.

Lance shifted from anger to concern in a blink, “What do you need?” He asked, a hundred catastrophic scenarios running through his mind.

“I found Shiro. C’mon.” Without another word Keith ran off.

Lance hurried after him hoping whatever they were doing wasn’t a terrible idea bound to get them killed.

A couple minutes of running later they had circled back to the sheds they’d seen Allura sneak into. Without a word Keith yanked open the door and rushed inside. Lance followed, ready to comfort Keith when they found nothing in the shed. Keith hurried to the back wall and started hitting different spots on it. Lance watched, unsure how to help his friend through whatever breakdown he was clearly having.

And then the wall opened.

“What the fu-“ Lance’s shout was cut off by Keith’s hand slapping over his mouth.

Remaining silent Keith rushed into the newly visible tunnel and Lance continued to follow him. He’d gone this far, after all.

The walls were a smooth white material that after a couple feet turned to rock. Ten minutes of walking in silence later it shifted back into the smooth white walls with three doors, one in front of them, one to the left and one to the right. Lance realized just how much he really shouldn’t be here and that he and Keith were almost certainly about to die. This wasn’t at all how he imagined dying, in a secret underground lab with his weird friend who yes, he thought was cute. He was going to die he could admit that. Keith was cute as all hell with his to serious purple eyes and his weird hair and his dry but amazing sense of humour. He was cute.

Unaware of Lance’s thoughts Keith hurried forward and pulled a key card out of his pocket and swiped it through the slot next to the door to the right of them. He barely waited for the doors to open before rushing in. Lance, committed to his role of following Keith around, rushed in after him. Shock stopped him in his tracks while Keith just hurried forward.

In front of them was indeed Shiro, unconscious on a table wires and tubes connecting him to an array of machinery. His head was covered with one of those caps used to measure brain waves or whatever, Lance wasn’t a scientist, he didn’t know. The room itself was dim, light from the machines the only thing illuminating Shiro.

Keith was gently tapping Shiro’s face and saying his name over and over, trying to get some sort of response Lance guessed.

“How’d you know he was here?” Lance asked, shaking himself out of his shock.

“I didn’t know for sure, some other security officers were complaining about guard duty around here and I didn’t think there was anything to guard out here so I followed them around and found this place. I nicked one of their keycards and grabbed you to confirm my suspicions. Are you gonna help me get him outta here or what?” Keith finished his explanation with a sharp glare at Lance who put his hands up.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, won’t someone notice if he suddenly goes missing? I mean there are guards here sometimes. Speaking of-“

Keith cut him off, “I knocked the guard who’s shift it is out. He didn’t see me.”

“Ok. Ok. Alright. Cool. Cool cool cool. This is cool! So cool! And fine!” Lance vaguely realized that his panic had finally caught up to him.

Keith was now visibly worried and took a step towards Lance who promptly passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I love love love comments and kudos <3 and you can find me at felixvanhusss on tumblr if you want


	3. Sorry

For my own mental well-being I'm gonna have to abandon this fic. I know I said I wouldn't but......Here I am. I'm sorry.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and reviews are my life blood. You could literally just comment a :) and I'd die for you.


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